Feminist Movement in the Novels of Nayantara Sahgal with Special Reference to Social and Political Concerns

Abstract

One of the great Indian novelists in English is Nayantara Sahgal. In the novels of Nayantara Sahgal, the renowned Indian English writer, the main emphasis is on the plight and problems of educated women, often from an urban background. In several of the characters in her novels, Nayantara depicts the full right of equality for women. She talks about the problem of a new woman from India. Nayantara Sahgal is a descendant of the belief in which force itself is deified as the ‘sakthi’ goddess, a female symbol. Government officials, business tycoons, foreign advisers, upper class citizens, journalists and highly skilled individuals such as ambassadors and ministers populate her fictional universe. A political theme is also coupled with the theme of the relationship between man and woman, their marital issues, their volatile incompatibility, the problems that emerge from their tameness, and eventually a woman’s place in society. An attempt has been made in this paper to discuss the theme of suffering in the post-independence period and maladjustment in the social setup of an English lady. Sahgal also portrays how, despite many barriers, women rise in power and how women make many sacrifices and compromises, and how tolerantly they bravely face the challenges of life.